Greg Nelson, 63, of Mabel area

Gregory A. Nelson, 63, of Decorah, died Monday, Dec. 16, 2013 at Rochester Methodist Hospital in Rochester after a five-year battle with cancer.

He was born June 12, 1950, in Spring Grove to Alvin and Eleanor (Trimble) Nelson. He grew up in the Mabel area and graduated from the Mabel-Canton High School in 1968.

On Feb. 1, 1969, he married Deb Sollien at the Hesper Lutheran Church. They lived in Canton, the Mabel area, and then settled in Hesper where they have been for 40 years. He worked at the Mabel Creamery for 17 years, at Luther College as a boiler operator, NFO, TruValue and American Home Patient.

He was a member of the Hesper Lutheran Church; enjoyed watching the Minnesota Gophers, Vikings and Twins; loved annual camping trips up north, fishing, crossword puzzles, cribbage and spending time with his family and friends, especially his grandchildren and the Hesper kids.

He is survived by his wife, Deb; sons, Scott (Brenda Kuhn) of Stewartville and Rick (Stacy Storlie) of Stewartville; four grandchildren, Amber (Jared) Bushman of Stewartville, Eric Nelson of La Crosse, Anthony Nelson and Emily Nelson of Stewartville; one great-grandchild, Zoey Bushman; his mother, Eleanor Nelson of Mabel; siblings, Arlene (Terry) Olerud of Spring Grove, Charles Nelson of Spring Grove, Darlene (Dick) Juve of Decorah, Robert (Judy) Nelson of Mabel, Gary (Colleen) Nelson of Mabel and Marlene Nelson of Waterloo; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father, Alvin Nelson; two nephews, Troy Folkedahl and Curt Wennes; a sister-in-law, Sandy Nelson and a brother-in-law, Gary Wennes.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday at the Hesper Lutheran Church in Hesper with the Rev. Matt Larson officiating. Burial will be in the Hesper Public Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Hesper Lutheran Church in Hesper.

A comment must be approved by our staff before it will displayed on the website.

MN Soccer

Major League Soccer announced that Minnesota will be the home of a new Major League Soccer team. The owners also announced they want to build a new open-air stadium for the team. Do you think it should be funded through public subsidies or privately funded?